I read a quote or saying once that urged us to always see things with new eyes — something like, “Look at an oak tree as if it were the first one you’ve ever seen.” I don’t know when or where I read it, and it could just be someone’s casual new-age philosophizing, but I enjoy the thought. I think it means seeing things fully as they are, without letting familiarity sap away the wonder. It’s part of what I hope to get across through this blog.

My (figuratively) closest friends are scattered across the hemisphere from California to northern Germany, but one of them swung by here last weekend. As I drove her around this little corner of the state, I tried to push my mind back a few years to when I moved here and saw it all for the first time. She helped me get those new eyes again.

That’s it for now — thanks for looking, and have a good Memorial Day.

Dan